Wenchi (B/A), March 16, GNA - About 98 retired and volunteer teachers have been recruited as national service personnel to assist in deprived areas in the Wenchi municipality.

Mr. Paul Tibil, Municipal Director of the National Service Secretariat, told the GNA that they had been taken through the requisite processes.

He explained that the recruitment of the retired and volunteer teachers was in response to the current low number of teachers in deprived areas and to enhance teaching and academic excellence. Mr. Tibil said the inadequate number of teachers especially in the deprived areas was largely due to the failure of some service personnel to accept postings to such areas.

"Both the retired and volunteer teachers recruited last year have all served in the municipality before and were given the opportunity to serve again based on their commitment and experience", he said. Mr. Tibil said hard working service personnel in the municipality had for the past fours years been rewarded to serve as a moral booster and urged personnel under the service to work extra hard. He said failure by most service personnel to serve in rural areas was a major challenge confronting the Secretariat and appealed to them to be patriotic enough and change.